


Ready

by diogeegohome



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Nightmares, Post-Iron Man 1, Pre-Iron Man 2, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 04:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20186296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diogeegohome/pseuds/diogeegohome
Summary: They were just Tony and Pepper, sleeping, and she didn't even questioned it, because it felt right.And in the morning, she found herself wondering if someone is ever ready to love.





	Ready

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my main language so this might suck and not make sense at all, I have no idea.
> 
> Also this is more than a month old, I have a bunch of these oneshots laying on my Google Docs account and I thought I should publish them, so here we are, I hope someone enjoys them.
> 
> Oh, and this was apparently from a tumblr prompt: "Things don't always turn out the way we want them to."

It was one of many nights of her sleeping on the guest room, only a wall away from Tony's room. Thank god he had stopped bringing strange women to have sex with, otherwise it'd be impossible for her to have some sleep, and she really needed it, she was too tired to even drive herself home.

There's been a whole year since Afghanistan, and while Pepper couldn't say she wasn't grateful about Tony's decision not to have more one night affairs, she was starting to worry just a little bit. Sometimes she even felt like the man who left on a plane on her birthday had nothing to do with the man that came back from Afghanistan. And that honestly terrified her.

After tossing and turning in bed for a few minutes, trying to clear her mind from Tony Stark, she finally was starting to fall asleep. But then a subtle blue glow covered the room. Tony had entered the room, and was about to leave when he saw her asleep, but she stopped him.

"Mh, is there something wrong, Tony?" She said while slowly sitting on her bed. Well, technically it wasn't her bed, but she'd been sleeping on it so much that it certainly felt more like hers than the one on her apartment.

"No, it's nothing, just, don't worry, keep sleeping." He said before turning around, heading to the door.

"I wasn't really asleep. Can't really shut my mind down."

"Yeah, me neither." He said, turning around once again to face her. He looked a little bit nervous, even scared. And it was weird, because Tony Stark wasn't the type of man that really ever showed his feelings. But at the end of the day, it was Pepper, it was only Pepper, and he trusted her the most.

"Do you want to tell me? It seems like you had a hell of a nightmare." She was clearly worried but she tried not to show it. She wanted to make him feel safe, like he could tell her whatever was bothering him and she wouldn't judge him.

"I did." He said, sitting on the other side of the bed. He looked at her waiting for an answer, but since she didn't said a thing, he continued to talk. "About… Then."

She nodded. "It's okay, Tony." She was giving him an 'i know you don't want to talk about it and I understand' kind of smile.

"It was about Yinsen. About me not being able to save him… Over, and over again…" He opened up, which was weird, he hardly talked about what happened. Of course she knew some of it, but only the surface, and she respected Tony's way to deal with it, she wouldn't ask until she knew he was ready to talk about it.

Her arm suddenly surrounded him, and he gave in and rested his head against her shoulder. He didn't even think about it, it was all so… natural.

"He told me not to waste my life. I'm trying not to." 

Suddenly it all made sense, all of the sudden changes she saw in him, his wish to make things right, the lack of women in his bed… Him becoming a hero.

"I think you're doing pretty well." She rubbed his shoulder. She meant it, she was really proud of the man he became.

"I'll never know if I'm doing well enough. I wish I could have saved him, I wish… I wish the plan had worked exactly how I wanted it to work." He was struggling to look strong, it felt like the minute he started to talk all of the walls he'd been building to keep himself safe were tearing down, letting her in.

"Things don't always turn out the way we want them to. You can't blame yourself for that." There was that woman that always knew what to say, the woman he really needed on that cave, the woman he then discovered he loved.

"That's what terrifies me the most, Pepper."

"What?"

"Things not turning out the way I want them to be, screwing up everything… I'm terrified of… hurting you." Lately all he'd been thinking of was how much he wished he could put her on a crystal box, away from all of the danger… and away from him, because sometimes he felt like he was the reason to all of that danger.

"Tony, you won't…" She trusted him with her life, he never really understood what he did to deserve that, to deserve her.

"I almost did. All that happened with Obie…"

"I would have found out anyways, and he would've actually killed me. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead."

"Well, if it wasn't for you I would be dead twice. I owe you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. In fact I owe you a lot. For always being here for me." He was looking at her in such an intense way that for a few seconds she forgot how to speak at all.

"It's my job." She finally answered, trying not to give it to much importance, because if she did, then it would all become  _ something _ , something she wasn't entirely ready for.

"Not really. In fact, your work ends at eight o'clock. And it's one in the morning right now. So technically right now I'm not your boss nor you my personal assistant."

"So what does that makes us?" She couldn't help herself not to ask, even if she probably wouldn't want to know the answer.

"That makes us… us. You and me. Tony and Pepper. It doesn't need to have a name yet." He said, actually trying to convince himself. Hell, he even bought a ring, an engagement ring, what was that supposed to mean?

She smiled, relieved by the answer.

"Just go to sleep, Tony."

"Yeah, we could both use some rest." He laid down and held her in his arms, covering them both with a thin blanket.

Suddenly her head was resting on top of Tony's chest, that blue glow illuminating her face, but she couldn't care less. They were just Tony and Pepper, sleeping, and she didn't even questioned it, because it felt right.

And in the morning, she found herself wondering if someone is  _ ever _ ready to love.


End file.
